Selective tumbler switch



Sept. 17, 1929. J. J. HOGAN SELECTIVE TUMBLER SWITCH Filed Oct. 31. 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet v INVENTOR JAY J. HOGAN 5 722's aiiorzzeys 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Sept. 17, 1929. J. J. HOGAN SELECTIVE TUMBLER SWITCH Filed Oct. 31, 1928 Patented Sept. 17, 1929 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JAY J. HOGAN, OF BRIDGELPORT, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE BRYANT ELECTRIC COMPANY, BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT SELECTIVE TUMBLER SWITCH Application ,filed October 31, 1928. Serial No. 316,161.

This invention relates to aswitch construction in which there are several tumbler switch units and a selective actuator by means of which any one of the switch units may be operated at will.

The present invention has reference particularly to a switch designed to control the several circuits through an electric heating device of the so-called three-heat type in which a low, a medium or a high degree of heat may be obtained by putting the switch in the appropriateone of three on positions. The commonly used switch for this purpose is of the rotary type in which a direct change from any one degree of heat to 1 trolled by a single actuator but there is not complete and assured independence of operation of each switch unit. This is shown in the Catlin Patent 1,423,306. With the present preference of switch users forthe tumbler type of switch, by which we mean here a switch in which a displacement of an oscillatable actuator'causes a spring to throw' the switch contacts from one position tothe other, the Catlin construction has not met all of the requirements of the switch users.

The objects of this invention are then, (1) to improve the construction of a selective switch so that any one of the units may be moved between its off and its on position without actuating the other units, (2) to prevent, in such a switch, the operation of one unit to its on position while any other unit is in its on. position, (3) to improve the selective actuating mechanism of such a switch so that it is applicable to a switch in which the unit switches are of the tumbler type, and (4) to simplify and to render less expensive the construction of the switch.

Two modifications of a switch embodying the invention are described hereinafter and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. v

In the drawings- Figure 1 is a view, in elevation, of a fully assembled switch, one embodiment of the invention. 7

Figure 2 is a central vertical sectional view of the same switch. v

Figures 3, 4, a and 6 are perspective views of disassembled parts of the selective actuator forming a part of the switch shown in Figures 1 and 2.

Figure 7 is a plan view of the insulating base in which the switch movements are mounted.

Figure 8 is a vertical sectional view showingdetails of the switch movement.

Figure 9 is a fragmentary view in elevation of a modified selective actuator.

Figure 10 is a fragmentary plan view of the selective actuator shown in Figure 9.

Figure 11 is a fragmentary view of a detail of the actuator of Figure 9.

Figure 12 is a yiew of an insulating shield.

Figure 13 is a diagram of the electrical connection of the switch units to a so-called three-heat translating device.

Two single pole tumbler switch movements 15 and 16, and a double pole tumbler switch movement 17 are fixed to a single frame 18 which at either end has downwardly extending legs 19 terminating in laterally offset feet 20. The frame 18 is secured in the single gang insulating base 21 by means of screws 22 extending through the bottom of the base and threading into the feet which rest in the recesses. 23 in: the bottom wall of the switch chamber 24.

Each switch movement, described here by reference to a single pole movement 16, comprises a yoke member 25 secured to opposite sides of the frame 18 by bolts 26. The down legs 27 of the yoke-member 25 have laterally extending lugs 28 which form pivots for the rocking frame 29 carrying the commutator arm 30, the rocking frame being suitably recessed at 31 to engage the pivot lugs 28. Lower down on the legs 27 are fulcrums 32 which support outwardly oifset lugs 33 on the forked lower end of the switch actuator 34 and thus permit the actuatorto be rocked. The actuator extends upward between the legs 27 of the main frame 25 and through an elongated slot 35 in the supporting frame 18. A spring 36 is secured at one. end to the actuator 34 and extends down between the forked end'of the actuator to the cross-member 37 of the rocking frame 29, thus holding the latter against its pivot lugs 28 and holding the actuator against the fulcrum point 32. The

swing of the frame 29 is limited by theengagement of the opposite ends of an arcuate slot 38 in the frame with the lugs 33 on the actuator 34, these lugs extending, for this purpose, beyond the frame legs 27 a sufficiside. The operation of the switch is effected by oscillating the actuator lever 34 beyond a vertical position, whereupon the spring 36 rocks the frame 29 with a snap action and reverses the position of the commutator bar The insulating base 21 is rectangular and has a main switch chamber 24 to receive the frame 18 carrying the three switch movements. The end walls of the chamber have downwardly converging recesses 41 which receive the legs 19 of the main frame 18. As mentioned above the offset feet 20 of the frame rest in the recesses 23. Each side wall of the base is cut away over part of its length to form ledges 42, 43 and on these ledges the combined terminals and switch contacts are mounted.

On one ledge 42 are two spaced terminal pieces 44, 45, each having a central binding post 46 and two securing screws 47 which extend upward from the under side of the base. Each terminal piece has also two contacts 48 which have down portions extending through grooves 49 in the side wall of the switch chamber and blades 50 which extend outward into the switch chamber in position to be engaged by the contact ends of the commutator bars 30 when the bars are thrown to their respectiv on positions.

The other ledge 43 has a terminal piece 51 similar to the pieces 44, 45 in that it carries two blade contacts 52 but the contacts are above the plane of theledge 43 instead of below since the commutator bars 30 assume a diagonal position when closing the circuits. The binding post 53 for this terminal piece is on an outward extension 54 of the terminal piece, lying in the plane of the ledge 43.

A terminal 55. is secured by a screw 47 on the ledge 43 in position to support its contact blade 56 oppositethe central blade of the post 57 on the ledge and another 58, on an extension 59 of the terminal 55, which lies outward from the ledge 43 and below it so that the two binding posts are spaced vertically and horizontally.

At the end of the ledge 43, beyond the terminal piece 55 is a contact 60 having a blade 61 extending over the switch chamber in the manner of the blades 52 and 56 and held in place in the same manner as the terminal pieces 44, 45, 51 and 55 by a screw 47 extending from the under side of the base. A conducting strap 62, lying in a recess in the under side of the insulating base 21, connects the lower end of one securing screw 47 of the terminal piece 51 with a similar screw threaded at its upper end into the contact piece 60, thus electrically connecting the contacts 52 and 60.

Two transverse straps 63 lie in recesses in the bottom of the insulating base 21 and extend beyond it at each side. These straps aflord means for attaching the base to a support and also afford abutments for the heads of the screws 22 which hold the frame 18 to the base and of other securing screws extending up through the base from the under s1 e.

As shown in Figure 2, there is an insulating shield 64 of compressed fibrous material between the switch units of different polarity. These shields are shaped as shown in Figure 12. They are held in place by shallow grooves 64' in the side walls of the switch chamber 24. (See Figure 7.)

The selective actuating mechanism is carried by a frame 65 having down legs 66 pivoted on the lower ends of the down legs 19 of the switch frame 18. The frame 65 overlies the frame 18 and rocks transversely of it in the direction of movement of the switch actuators 34. This frame has alongitudinal slot 67 in its cross member to permit movement of the selector 68 across the switch units.

The selector 68 is made up of a flat rectangular piece 69 (shown upside down in Figure 4) which lies under the slotted cross member of the frame 65, and a plate 70 which lies above the cross member but has lugs 71 extending through the long slot 67 therein and through small slots in the flat piece 69. The lugs are headed over under the flat piece. The selector thus is held to the cross-member by the engagement therewith, on opposite sides, of the flat piece 69 and the plate 7 O which form an integral unit. The selector is permitted to slide on the cross member to an extent limited by the end of the slot 67.

- The flat piece 69 has two jaws 72 formed by bending portions of the metal toward each other as shown in Figure 4. These jaws are on the under side of the flat piece and rest over the upper end of some one of the switch actuator arms 34. By moving the selector along the cross member of the frame 65, the jaws 72 are brought over one or another of the switch actuator arms. To shorten the travel of the selector, the upper ends 73, 74 of the actuators of the two outside, single pole switches are oifset toward. the double pole switch actuator.

The operation of any one of the switch units is effected by moving the selector 68 along the slotted cross member of the rocking frame 65 until the jaws 72 rest over the upper end of the actuator of the switch to be operated. Thereupon, the whole frame 65 is rocked carrying the jaws 72 in the direction of switch actuation. The switch actuator engaged by the jaws is carried therebyto the extent of its permitted movement and in doing so it throws the commutator bar to its opposite position.

The switch is provided with a means to locate the jaws 72 with respect to the actuator of the middle or double pole switch. This means consists of a notch in the under surface of the cross member of the frame 65 and a detent or boss 78 carried on a spring piece 75 riveted, as at 76, to the under side of the fiat piece 69 and bent, as at 77, to present the detent in the plane of notch. The selector and its jaws 72 are located with respect to the outer switches by the ends of the slot 67 in the cross member of the frame A cover plate 80 is mounted on the base by four corner le s 81 having flanges resting on the corners of the base and held thereto by screws extending up from the bottom of the base. The cover is bowed upwardly to conform to the curve of the guard plate 70, this curve conforming in turn to the arc of movement of the guard plate about the pivotal connection between the rocking frame 65 and the switch frame 18.

The cover plate 80 is slotted to permit movement of, the thumb piece 82 which is rigid with the guard plate 70 and the se- "lector, 65 and which extends through .the

cover plate. There is one slot 83 transverse of the switch units and in register with the oft positions of all of the switch actuators 34. At right angles to the main slot 83 are three parallel slots 84, 85, 86 lying respectively in register with the paths of movement of the three switch actuators in moving from their off to their on positions.

It will be apparent that in order to move the selector from engagement with one actuator to engagement with another'it is neces* sary to move the engaged actuator to its off position. It is impossible to have two switches in circuit closlng position at the same time, yet it is possible to change from any one degree of heat to any other without going through an intermediate degree since all changes are by way of the common off position. Legends are placed on the cover plate to indicate the degree of heat, high, low or medium, obtained by movement of the selector to each of the parallel slots.

The circuits controlled by such a switch as has been described are shown in Figure 13 where the same reference characters are used as in the preceding figures to indicate the terminals, the cont-act blades and the switch movements. The two translating devices A and B are so connected that they may be put in series or in parallel or one of them alone may be energized depending upon which switch is closed.

A modified form of selector is shownin Figures 9, 10 and 11. The switch movements are the same as in the form described above and the rocking frame 65 is pivoted in the same way on the switch frame 18 through the cross member of which the three switch actuators, two with offset upper ends 73, 74, project. The upper end 87 of the actuator of the middle or double pole switch is made narrower however for a purpose to be described hereinafter- Instead of a selector movable bodily across the switches, a selecting lever 88 is pivoted on a central depending flange 90 on the rocking frame 65 so that its lower end 89 which, like the jaws 72 is forked, may swing over the upper ends of the actuator levers 34. \Vhen engaged with any one actuator lever, the selector 88 will move the switch controlled thereby from one position to another upon rocking the frame 65.

To restrain the selector 88 from movement into engagement with any one of the actuators, except when the actuators are in their respective open circuit or off positions, there is provided a U-shaped member mounted on the frame 18 and having arms 91 and 92, one on each side of the path of movement of the upper end 87 of the middle actuator. The upper end 87 of the middle actuator is narrow enough to pass between these arms. When theselector is in engagement with the middle actuator. rocking of the frame 65 moves this actuator and the selector lever 88 between the arms 91 and 92 and the selector lever therefore is restrained from movement about its pivot on the flange 90. A similar condition obtains when the selector engages either of the other actuators and the frame is rocked, since then the selector lever is outside of either one of the arms .91, 92, and is thereby restrained from swinging back until the switch I ing frame is 'at one side of the base. The arms 91, 92, like the prongs in the cover plate 80 forming the slots 84, 85, 86 restrain the selector from engaging more than one actuator lever at a time and from movement in the direction of switch actuation except when in engagement with any one lever.

In function the two types of selector are the same. They differ only in structure, the second described form being the simpler to manufacture.

These examples of the invention have been described as a matter of convenience as if the switch were resting on a horizontal support. Of course, there is nothing which limits its use to such a position. The switch may be used wherever independent selectivity is desired and with many variations of detail both of the switches and of the selector, all within the fair scope of the following claims.

I claim- 1. An electrical fitting comprising a number of tumbler'switches each of which has an oscillatable actuating lever, a selector having a portion adapted to engage any one of said actuators in'a driving relation in the direction of switch actuation but releasable therefrom in another direction, said selector .being movable in the direction of switch having a portion adapted to engage any one of said actuators in a driving relation in the direction of switch actuation but releasable therefrom in another direction, said selector being movable in the direction of switch actuation and in a direction to engage any one of said actuating levers, and

means to restrain said selector from move-' ment to engage any one of said actuating levers except when said actuating levers are in their respective open circuit positions.

3. An electrical fitting comprising a number of tumbler switches each of which has an oscillatable actuating lever, a selector having a portion adapted to engage any one of said actuators in a driving relation in the direction of switch actuation but releasable therefrom in another direction, said selector chamber, a number of tumbler switch movements in said chamber each switch move ment having an oscillatable actu ting lever, a frame mounted to rock in the irection of switch actuation, a selector mounted on said frame and movable to engage any one of said actuating levers and means to restrain said selector from movement to engage any one of said levers except when said levers are in their respective open circuit positions.

5. An electrical fitting comprising an insulating base providing a switch chamber, a number of tumbler switch movements in said chamber each comprising an oscillatable actuating lever movable transversely of the chamber, a frame mounted to rock over said switch movements in the direction of switch actuation, a selector mounted on said frame and movable to engage any one of said levers and means to restrain said selector from movement to engage any one of said levers except when said frame is at one side of said chamber.

6. An electrical fitting comprising an insulating base providing a switch chamber,

a number of tumbler switch movements in' JAY J. HOGAN. 

